Restaurants and fast-food facilities do much cooking in grease. Typically the deep fat fryers have a hood which exhausts the vaporized grease away from the fryer via an exhaust fan and out to the roof area. However, the grease does deposit on the exhaust fan and also on the roof of the restaurant. Over a period of time this grease gradually builds up and collects about the fan structure, the fan housing, and as well on the roof. If not removed in time, the grease will become highly corrosive to the roofing materials, eventually causing deterioration of shingles and rotting of the underlying boards. Accumulated grease is also known to provide a significant fire hazard, and since it makes the surrounding area highly slippery, also a safety hazard. There is, therefore, a continual need to prevent such grease accumulation so that the attendant problems associated therewith can be eliminated.
In the past, it was known to arrange wooden sandboxes beneath the exhaust fan housing on a restaurant roof. However, this is not very satisfactory in that it requires frequent and troublesome maintenance. Particularly the sandbox itself is susceptible to the same roof rot caused by grease. Other forms of grease collectors have been proposed, including complex systems which use solvent catch basins, see for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,635,617 issued Jan. 13, 1987. The trouble with solvent catch basins is that they are simply not practical. This is true because they are extremely expensive, and in areas where there is subjection to wide ranging temperature variations such as in the Northern parts of this country, there may be a distinct temperature effect, not only the grease but also on the solvent system. Moreover, solvent systems are difficult to install and expensive. Simply put, the cost outweighs the benefits achieved.
There is, therefore, a continuing need for the development of a simple, reusable, and economical sandbox type system, which achieves the economic advantages of a wooden sandbox without the attendant inherent problems in sandbox systems. This invention has as its primary objective the fulfillment of this need.
Yet another objective of the present invention is to develop a perimeter curb system for use in roof top traps for grease, which system is lightweight, durable, noncorrosive with exposed grease, and which allows collected water to weep away so that there is collection of grease only.
A further objective of the present invention is to provide a universally usable perimeter curb system which can be easily modified on site for the variety of differing types of roof top fan exhaust systems.
An even further objective of the invention is to provide a perimeter curb system which is long lasting, durable, and economical.
The method of accomplishing these and other objectives of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description which follows .